Chapter 408 - 257: I, I’ll Take Revenge
Chapter 408: Chapter 257: I, I’ll Take Revenge
Hearing the noise, Xiaodie hurried out and handed him an umbrella that was hanging under the eaves:
"Young Master, it might rain today. You should take an umbrella."
She didn’t ask Chen Yi where he was going; her mind was still on that painting.
Chen Yi took the umbrella, gave a few instructions, and calmly strolled out of the Spring Lotus Garden.
For the past few days, he had spent most of his time in the Xiao Mansion.
During this period, he had only left once—to move Asutai and one of Liu Hong’s men, Zeng Zhifeng, to the house on Chuansi Street.
The rest of the time, he painted by day, practiced his Martial Arts by night, and went to Guiyun Academy to teach the Calligraphy Dao.
He cut the figure of a man unconcerned with worldly affairs.
But in reality, Chen Yi had been using various channels to keep abreast of the situation in the city.
These included the rising grain prices, the movements of several major grain merchants, the Xiao Family’s internal response, and Liu Hong’s activities.
The first three had proceeded almost exactly as he had predicted.
But Liu Hong’s side of things was a little different.
Chen Yi hadn’t expected him to be so brazen.
To find Asutai, the Prefectural Magistrate’s Office, the Imprisonment Department, and the City Guard Army had spent the last five days turning the Prefecture City upside down.
They searched house by house.
If Chen Yi hadn’t reacted in time by having Zhang Dabao dig a cellar in the Chuansi Street house to move both Asutai and Zeng Zhifeng, those officials would have discovered Asutai’s tracks long ago with only Pei Guanli to hide him.
And that wasn’t all.
What concerned Chen Yi most was that at some point, a number of unfamiliar faces had appeared in Shu State City.
According to Liu Lang, these people hid by day and moved by night, and their skills were anything but simple.
Although most were Martial Artists of the Lower Three Grades, they were so well-equipped that they didn’t resemble common Jianghu People at all.
Instead, they seemed more like soldiers with military training.
Furthermore, their Cultivation Techniques were unusual, and they possessed a Combined Attack Skill, which meant few Jianghu People could stand against them.
At first, Chen Yi suspected that members of the Five Poison Sect had arrived.
But after going to observe them himself, he confirmed that these elusive figures were all Liu Hong’s men.
The Xiao Family, who held the Marquis Position and commanded the troops of Shu State, had only three hundred Personal Guards and maintained no private army.
In this, they were outdone by Governor Liu Hong.
’Maintaining a private army... heh. Liu Hong certainly has some nerve.’
A smile touched Chen Yi’s face as he mulled these things over.
If it were otherwise, his scheme would be far less interesting.
Not long after, Chen Yi reached the front courtyard and saw Xiao Wan’er and Cui Qingwu walking toward him in the distance.
Trailing behind them were Shen Huatang and Cui Qingwu’s maid, Huan’er.
The group was chatting and laughing.
Chen Yi stopped and waited for them to draw closer before giving a slight bow in greeting. "Miss Cui, Eldest Sister."
Xiao Wan’er had spotted him already, her smile brightening. Noticing the umbrella in his hand, she asked:
"Brother-in-law, are you heading out?"
Chen Yi smiled in reply. "Based on the timing, the people Hundred Herbs Hall sent to investigate Guangyuan should have sent word back. I’m going to go ask about it."
Xiao Wan’er thought for a moment before it dawned on her. "Shopkeeper Yan Hai?"
"That’s him."
"Then hurry back."
Chen Yi shook his head. Just as he was about to leave, Cui Qingwu spoke up.
"I hear things are a bit chaotic in the city right now. It would be best for you to be careful, Mr. Qingzhou, leaving the mansion alone."
Hearing this, Xiao Wan’er took the words to heart, her tone turning worried as she added her own caution:
"Little Sister Qingwu is right. There’s been a lot of trouble in the city over the rising grain prices."
"Brother-in-law, you should have the Personal Guards take you by carriage."
Chen Yi smiled and nodded, not refusing the offer.
As he agreed, he discreetly glanced at Cui Qingwu.
She was smiling brightly, and her reminder seemed to have been offered casually, but Chen Yi couldn’t help but feel that something was odd.
’Why does my brother Chen Yunfan’s fiancée seem to hold a bit of a grudge against me?’
’It wasn’t much, but he could tell.’
How could he know that for days, Chen Yunfan had been constantly mentioning his name in Cui Qingwu’s ear?
It had annoyed Cui Qingwu to no end, though she couldn’t quite put her finger on why it bothered her.
That was why she had said what she did.
As for her motive... she didn’t really have any malicious intent.
She just wanted to use the Marquis’s Mansion’s White Tiger Guard to see if Chen Yi was meeting with Chen Yunfan in secret.
Chen Yi, of course, knew none of this. Certain that he hadn’t given himself away, he put it out of his mind.
After bidding farewell to the women, he went to the front courtyard, called out for Liu Si’er, and took a carriage to Hundred Herbs Hall.
After finding an excuse to send Liu Si’er away, Chen Yi had Zhang Dabao take him directly to the house on Chuansi Street.
With the latest round of searches complete, the situation in Shu State City had calmed down.
It was time for him to meet with Asutai, the son of the Barbarian Left King, and that guard of Liu Hong’s.
「About an hour later.」
Chen Yi finished his disguise. He changed into a black cloak and donned a black iron mask.
Pei Guanli watched with envy, asking Zhang Dabao to disguise her as well.
Chen Yi was unable to dissuade her, so he relented and agreed.
"A disguise is a good idea. From now on, you can use this face in public. It will help prevent your identity from being discovered."
Pei Guanli sat upright in her chair, letting Zhang Dabao apply a mask as thin as a cicada’s wing to her face. "Don’t you worry, Brother-in-law," she said.
"These last few days, I haven’t set a single foot outside, afraid that something would go wrong and affect your plans. I’m about to go stir-crazy from being cooped up."
Seeing her bottom lip jutting out in a pout so pronounced you could hang an oil bottle from it, Chen Yi laughed and offered a few words of comfort.
He promised her some kind of reward once this busy period was over.
"What kind of reward?"
"You’ll find out."
Chen Yi didn’t make promises lightly, fearing the trouble it would cause if he couldn’t fulfill them.
But with Tiger Girl, he wasn’t worried.
After all, knowing her, she would be delighted even if he just gave her a painting.
After a bit more idle chat, Chen Yi instructed Pei Guanli to stand guard outside the door while he entered the hidden room located beneath the bed in the side chamber.
Dim, yellow candlelight illuminated the small, quiet room, in which lay a long, ten-foot bed plank.
Three figures lay upon it.
They were Lv Jiunan, Asutai, and Zeng Zhifeng.
At that moment, they were all under the influence of Immortal Drunk, sleeping soundly.
Chen Yi’s gaze swept over them before he inserted a silver needle into several of Asutai’s vital acupoints.
With a few simple twists, Asutai groggily opened his eyes and weakly sat up.
The moment he saw Chen Yi’s figure, a wary look appeared on his swarthy face.
"Who... who... are... you?!"
Asutai’s command of the Wei Language was clearly poor. His intonation was stiff and strange, his words slurred and indistinct.
Chen Yi understood him, however. He sat cross-legged opposite the young man, his eyes, visible over the mask, holding a hint of scrutiny.
Asutai was of a similar build to Chen Yi.
His rugged-looking face held a youthfulness similar to that of any ordinary young man from the Great Wei Dynasty.
It was only the "barbarian slave" brand on his face and a world-weariness born from hardship that made him seem older than his years.
After studying him for a moment, Chen Yi gestured for Asutai to relax. "Who I am isn’t important. You only need to know that I’m here to help you."
"Help... help me?"
Asutai glared at him fiercely. "Wei People... cannot be trusted!"
Chen Yi gave a short, surprised laugh, knowing the young man still hated the man beside him, Zeng Zhifeng, for killing his people.
He thought for a moment, then pointed at Zeng Zhifeng. "I’m not like him."
"Both Wei People. What is... different?"
"He is in league with the Poshisu Country horse bandits. I am not."
Asutai’s expression froze. He whipped his head toward Zeng Zhifeng and growled through clenched teeth:
"Horse bandits... kill!"
With that, he slammed his fist into Zeng Zhifeng’s stomach.
Chen Yi froze for a second but made no move to stop him.
Zeng Zhifeng had, after all, once possessed the cultivation of the Middle Three Grades. Even without his cultivation, his body could withstand a few punches.
Of course, it wouldn’t be a problem if he couldn’t.
As long as Chen Yi was here, there were ways to keep him alive.
Asutai, however, wasn’t thinking about any of that. He rained several more punches down, the thuds echoing off Zeng Zhifeng’s body.
Even though Zeng Zhifeng was under the influence of Immortal Drunk, the blows made his eyelids flutter.
Seeing Asutai’s murderous expression, Chen Yi shook his head and, with a flick of his finger, sent out a blast of force that knocked him back.
"That’s enough. He’s useful for now, so you can’t kill him."
Asutai panted heavily, still glaring at Zeng Zhifeng, his wide, bell-like eyes completely bloodshot.
"Then can you... let me... kill him?"
"If you agree to my conditions, I’ll give you a chance to get your revenge. How about it?"
"I... I want revenge!"